Just say NO, to a MacBook Pro

Just say NO, to a MacBook Pro, at least for now. Apple offers great products with a simple, intuitive OS that includes plenty of useful software to perform most of the tasks we buy computers for. They generally cost a premium over similarly specs PC’s but after you see what you are getting you start to think, “okay, expensive but worth it!” plus every user I know says, "once with a mac you never go back (to a PC)”. So why do I write, ‘just say NO…’ Well, since the launch in 2006 of the MBP refreshes to the line came about every 8 months with a pattern of October, June, February, October…. Those that follow Apple pricing know that unlike all other technology companies, the prices listed on the day of launch remain constant up to the final day of sales. This means that customers get the best bang for the buck by purchasing at the beginning of the product cycle and start getting ripped-off prices towards the end. We are now well overdue at 9 months for MBP refresh with no tangible update rumors in sight. Apple seems to be the only company that does not offer the latest turbo boosted Arrandale processors in their laptops and are charging last years prices for last year’s technology. With the falling prices of RAM and chips Apple is making about $300 additional profit on a MBP today vs early June 2009 when they last refreshed the line. For example, want to upgrade from 4GB of RAM to 8GG, Apple will charge a $600 premium. Instead you can buy two – 4GB (total 8GB ram) for about $350 and upgrade yourself and keep the original 4GB.

Apple tends to make announcement of new products on Tuesdays. Today is Tuesday but not today, March 9th, 274 days into the average 230-day cycle. Perhaps next Tuesday, or the next, or next month… Some think that Apple will not refresh the line until after iPad is shipping and the whole world wants one. This may be true and if so it is a insult, IMO, to their customers. For many, like myself, a computer is first and foremost a tool as opposed to a toy. Smart consumers try to invest in the right tool for the job within their budget. I want a powerful laptop that can be hooked up to a quality monitor for photography. An iPad is a different tool and cannot possibly distract me from what I actually need as a professional. Is it that the company cannot walk and chew gum at the same time? Of course not, it is seems more like that the company thinks consumers can’t.

If the marketing genius’s at Apple believe that updated laptops will confuse people into not buying an iPad then why not adjust prices for last years technology down a bit – like everyone else. The market for new MBP’s include those like myself that are using old and slow P4 processors and anxious to make a switch from PC’s to something like a i5-540 processor that is 2.53Ghz and boosts 20% up to 3.06 Ghz with hyper-threading technology because of performance needs. It also includes existing Apple customers whose current laptops are under performing relative to their needs, and those whose computers are old and dieing out. Sure, they can buy a brand new MBP for the price of two similarly specked PC’s, and Apple would love this because again, their profits are inflated since the product, like its price, is now over 9 months. Apples best selling laptop in their 13” MPB which starts at $1200 and includes a 2.26Ghz C2D CPU, 160GB 54000 drive, and a meager 2GB Ram (no dedicated graphics card is included). A 15” MBP upgraded to a 2.8Ghz C2D with 8Gb ram and a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive with anti-glare screen is $3000 (okay $2,999 before tax). You can buy a much more powerful desktop and laptop combo for that price which includes the latest and greatest processors.

Bottom line, Apple products are cool and people love them. But, apple is incredibly greedy and currently the biggest technology laggard with the highest profits (they own 90% of the over $1,000 desktop market - good new for stockholders, not so much for consumers). If you want a new Macbook Pro wait. Tuesdays are the most likely time for a refresh and in the past month many at macrumors.com have labeled it, “Disappointment Tuesday.” Hopefully it will be worth the extended wait and hopefully it will be ‘next Tuesday’. The longer they wait the more profit they make, and the less value its customers realize.

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park on Mt Desert Island along the coast of Maine is one of my favorite places for landscape photography. It’s relatively small, about ¼ the size of the Great Smoky Mountains, making it easy to get around. But don’t let its compact size fool you; this area is loaded with plenty shooting opportunities including the ocean, shorelines, lakes, mountains, fog, lighthouse, harbors, and sunrise and sunset opportunities. As a matter of fact, Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain on the east coast, is the first place in the United States the sun strikes each morning making a sunrise shoot a very special experience.

Acadia’s landscape is a result of glaciation. Go back about 15,000 years and you will find this area covered by a mountain of ice over two miles high. The glacial advance and retreat resulted in carving out and later exposing the granite base rock unlike the well-covered mountains and hills we see in southern regions of the east. The hard material plucked from mountains at the base of the advancing and retreating glaciers is responsible for cutting deep groves in the local rocks running more or less north south. These groves work well for landscapes since they act as strong leading lines, which get nicely exaggerated when creating low-to-the-ground wide-angle compositions. As huge tongues of ice retreated they carved out valleys creating places like Eagle Lake, a great place to shoot colorful reflections in the fall when the light is right. Also, deep depressions from huge blocks of ice left behind from the glaciers are responsible for creating ‘kettle lakes’ like Jordon Pond and Bubble Pond, both Acadia icons.

The weather is Acadia can change rapidly and since the mountains meet the ocean fog is common and often welcomed by landscape photographers. The trouble is that you may get up and out very early for a sunrise shoot on a mountain top and just when the fireball is ready to break at the horizon a wall of fog can descend upon on you without notice. Yes, it has happened to me. Other local features include the rocky ocean shoreline, which has its own allure. When the tides are right you can do some interesting work with a neutral density filter for long exposures to create an ethereal look with the water – without the need for Photoshop plugins.

The nearby town, Bar Harbor, is small but very pleasant area to just walk around with plenty of places to eat, including fresh ice cream and seafood (I hate fish). In town you can also book a short cruise on one of many of the ships or schooners, rent a bicycle, or go kayaking. The five islands off Bar Harbor are iconic and best viewed from one of the nearby mountains like Cadillac. If you are in good shape and into hiking you can take a light kit, often a wide-angle zoom is enough, and see the sights from high above by taking one of the mountains trails. I only recently got into this and my last trip I hiked up Gorham, North Bubble and South Bubble Mountains. The views are fantastic and I am kicking myself for not exploring these off-road locations sooner. On future trips I have a list of new mountains to hike to add even more wonderful images to my portfolio of this lovely place. I conduct landscape workshops in Acadia the spring and fall and I hope you will join me in the future. You can see some of my work from this small, but beautiful, national park here.